More than 80 people, mostly school children, were kidnapped in the city of Bamenda in northwest Cameroon early on Monday, government and military sources told Reuters.

The separatists have imposed curfews and closed down schools as part of their protest against President Paul Biya's French-speaking government.

"In total 81 people were kidnapped including the principal. They were taken to the bush," a military source told Reuters.

A government spokesman said it was keeping track of an event but that it could not comment further.

The separatist movement gathered pace in 2017 after a government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations. Many people have fled Bamenda and other centres to seek refuge in more peaceful Francophone regions.